


So Close

by bansheequeen (queenbanshee), xtremeroswellian



Series: Comics Chlollie - Season 11 [2]
Category: Smallville
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Comics Character death, Discussion of Abortion, Dripping with angst, Earth 2 - Freeform, F/M, Fate's helmet, Friendship, Funerals, Guilt, Hurt/Comfort, One good rescue deserves another, Seeing the future, So much angst, vomitting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:21:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 17,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24219568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queenbanshee/pseuds/bansheequeen, https://archiveofourown.org/users/xtremeroswellian/pseuds/xtremeroswellian
Summary: Chloe and Oliver discuss the loss of a friend and their future.
Relationships: Chloe Sullivan & Bart Allen, Clark Kent & Chloe Sullivan, Lois Lane & Chloe Sullivan, Oliver Queen & Bart Allen, Oliver Queen/Chloe Sullivan
Series: Comics Chlollie - Season 11 [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1748101
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

“Having a baby with a _crisis_ on the way...?” Chloe muttered as Ollie helped her to her feet, her legs felt weak even as she put her weight on them. “How are we supposed to _do_ it?” 

“I don’t know...” He wound his arms around her, trying to choke back the bile that was burning his throat. Bart was _dead_.

She closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around him too, pulling him as close as she could. The thoughts running through her head making her nauseous.

He tightened his arms around her in return. He could feel her body trembling against him and he shut his eyes, knowing there was really nothing he could do to help her. To help _any_ of them. 

Chloe didn’t move for a full moment, she couldn’t if she wanted to. She _needed_ to lean on him to stay on her feet. But she couldn’t just stand there anymore, she had to do something about this, she needed to figure out what she _had_ to do. “I need to find him,” she whispered, pushing away from her husband and lifting her head to look at the globe there the words _Impulse: offline_ were still flashing.

“You heard Clark,” he whispered, watching her as she moved away from him. “He’s gone, Chloe.” Even as he said the words, he felt tears pricking his eyelids. 

“He can’t just vanish, Oliver,” she said, making her way to her desk so she could sit down, but reaching for the keyboard as soon as she had.

“I don’t...I don’t think he vanished exactly,” he murmured, rubbing his hands over his face. 

Her eyes teared up as she looked over at him then shook her head, turning to focus on the computer again. “He can’t be.”

Oliver didn’t answer. He moved to stand behind her, resting his hands lightly on her shoulders and giving them a gentle squeeze.

She typed as fast as her trembling hands would allow her, trying to connect to the communicator, or at least track its location every way that she could think of. But it wasn’t anywhere. He had been everywhere just moments before and now he was gone, vanished. 

He shut his eyes, sniffing quietly. He remembered the day he’d first met Bart like it was yesterday. And now he was just gone. 

Chloe heard him and took a deep breath, pulling her hands from the keyboard and covering his before lifting her head to look at his face.

“It’s so fucking unfair,” he whispered, not opening his eyes.

“I know,” she whispered back, taking a deep breath as she stood up. She wasn’t giving up on Bart, not yet. But if Clark couldn’t find him, she didn’t think she would have much luck.

A tear trickled down his cheek and he lifted his head to look at her, anger and despair warring for place in his expression. 

Her jaw tightened and she stepped close to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him to her once more.

He buried his face against her neck, holding his breath. His chest was so tight that he felt like he was going to explode. 

She cupped the back of his neck and held him to her, closing her eyes even though she felt tears running down her face. “He might still be out there,” she whispered.

Oliver wanted to believe that. To believe her. But he couldn’t. Not about this. He swallowed hard, pulling away to look at her again. The expression on her face matched his own sorrow and he knew that deep down, she didn’t truly believe Bart was still alive anymore than he did. He cupped her cheek in his hand and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

Chloe took a deep, shaky breath then looked down, wrapping her fingers around his hair as her stomach turned again. She couldn’t tell him what she was thinking, couldn’t let him know how terrified she was of what this all meant. But she couldn’t stop herself from thinking about it, from trying to decide if they shouldn’t have their baby at all if this was the kind of life people like them were to have.

“You look like you’re gonna be sick,” he whispered, grief shifting into familiar worry as he wrapped his arm around her waist. 

She felt like she was going to, too. “Let’s sit down,” she whispered, lifting her head to look at him.

Oliver guided her back to her chair, helping her sit down. “I’ll get you some crackers,” he murmured, tucking some hair behind her ear. 

Chloe wanted to say no, she didn’t want to let him out of her sight, but at the same time, she felt guilty just looking at him, so she looked down and nodded instead. 

“Be right back.” He kissed the top of her head and headed toward the kitchen.

Chloe rubbed her hands over her face, turning to glance at the monitor to check on the searches she had set up moments earlier. All the results remained the same, so she let out a shaky breath and looked down again. Between Bart, watching the other Oliver be murdered, and feeling how hollow and lost the other version of herself had felt, she couldn’t seem to find a single good thought in her head to hold on to. 

Oliver returned a moment later, carrying a package of crackers and a glass of ginger ale. He moved to her side and set the things down on the desk. He pulled a chair up beside her and sat down, his shoulders slumping. 

She looked over at him after a moment and took a deep breath. “What are we going to do?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted quietly, pulling one of the crackers from the package and handing it to her. He hated admitting that. He was supposed to have answers. He was supposed to be the strong one here, the one to take care of her for a change, and all he wanted to do was crawl into bed.

She took the cracker even if she had no intention of actually eating it, and reached for his hand with her free one.

He slid his fingers through hers, shaking his head. “I’m sorry,” he whispered.

Hearing him apologize actually hurt more. “Why?” she whispered back, turning to look at him.

Oliver rubbed a hand over his face. “That I don’t know how to fix everything,” he admitted.

“Maybe we’re not supposed to fix anything,” she said quietly, looking down at her lap.

“What _are_ we supposed to do then?” He looked down, too, staring at the floor.

“I don’t know,” she answered, shaking her head. “But maybe we just can’t stop it.”

He glanced up at her once more. “The crisis?” 

Swallowing hard, she nodded and looked over at him again.

Oliver was quiet for a long moment. “When you were gone...working with the Suicide Squad, I wanted to quit,” he admitted. “I wanted to give up. But then I remembered that what you did was for me. To save me. And I couldn’t let you down like that. I couldn’t just give up.” 

Her eyes teared up again as she watched him, her hand wrapping tightly around his. “I just feel like we survived too much already. Like we can only escape so many times before we end up like them.”

He knew what she was saying. He understood it. But he squeezed her hand, gazing at her with tearful eyes. Then he pressed her hand to his lips, kissing the palm. “I can’t make you any promises. God knows I wish I could. But we can’t quit, Chloe. We can’t.” 

“I know that,” she said sincerely. What else would they do if they quit? Watch as it all went down from a safe distance? Wait for it to be their turn? No. That wasn’t like them. They would both go down fighting, no matter what it took. But that didn’t mean they were going to make it. Except she couldn’t tell him that. 

“I know what you’re thinking,” he murmured. “I’m scared, too. For us. For this baby. For our family and friends.” He held his breath and shifted closer to her, pressing her hand against his jaw. 

Her chest clenched and she turned to look at him, her eyes tearing up again. She wasn’t scared, she was terrified. She had never been so afraid in her life, had never felt so vulnerable and while she would give her own life to protect him, or any of them, bringing their child into this felt like she was failing it before it was even born. 

“We will figure this out. Somehow,” he whispered. “Remember how bad things were with Darkseid? And Zod?” 

“It wasn’t the same,” she whispered back, her voice wavering. 

“No. But it was scary then, too. And now we have more reason than ever to fight.” He lifted his hand to her cheek. 

“Now we have everything to lose,” she said quietly, leaning into his touch. 

Oliver swallowed, nodding.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered to him, turning her face and pressing her lips to his palm. 

“Shh,” he whispered, moving to sit on the edge of his chair. “You have _nothing_ to apologize for.” 

He had no idea. “Oliver,” she whispered, finally setting the cracker he had handed her back down on her desk and reaching to cup the hand he had on her cheek with her own. “What if it isn’t time?”

“What do you mean?” He frowned, shaking his head.

“What if the crisis happens, what if the world turns into something like what the other Chloe saw, or what Lois saw in the future, when Zod was in control,” she whispered. “What happens to the baby then?”

He felt his stomach churn at the implications of her words. “We won’t let that happen. _Clark_ won’t let that happen.” 

Chloe swallowed hard and looked down, forcing herself to nod. She hated the idea, she didn’t even know if she could do something like that. But it was their responsibility to protect it.

“Chloe.” His voice was barely audible. “Are you...” He couldn’t bring himself to ask the question that was spinning in his brain.

The unspoken words were loud and clear and she knew he understood what she meant, but the fear in his voice seemed just as strong as what she felt. “I don’t know,” she whispered, unable to look at him. “I don’t know how to keep it safe.”

For the second time that night, he tasted bile in his mouth and he rubbed his face tiredly, resting his head in his hands. 

When he pulled his hands away, she glanced over at him, her face crumbling at the sight of him. With a deep breath, she looked down at her still flat stomach, stopping herself from lifting her hands to it and just resting them on her lap. Even though the idea of stopping her pregnancy to protect the baby still made sense, she didn’t even want to think about what it would feel like if it was suddenly gone. She didn’t want to think about what it would do to Ollie, especially if they _couldn’t_ find Bart.

“Can we please just...table this discussion for right now?” he whispered, not looking at her. “We just...Bart is gone, and...I don’t think we should make any decisions like this right now.” His voice was thick, like he was trying not to cry.

With a deep breath, she nodded again and lifted her head, her eyes on him even though he wasn’t looking at her. “I will try to find Bart,” she whispered. She still had to try and find footage of the last place his signal had been at, even if she knew no camera in the world would be able to pick up Bart.

Oliver rose to his feet slowly, feeling like he’d aged fifteen years in the last couple of hours. “I don’t think there’s anything else we can do tonight, Chloe,” he whispered. “Let’s go to bed.” 

She stared up at her husband then shook her head as she stood up too. “I can’t.”

His shoulders slumped and he shut his eyes for a moment. 

“I just need to try,” she said quietly, hesitating before lifting a hand to his cheek. She knew she had disappointed him, scared him even more than he already was. 

“I know,” he murmured, opening his eyes but not quite meeting her gaze. “I uh--I should probably patrol anyway. With Clark being away.” 

Chloe took a deep breath and pulled her hand away. She didn’t want him to go, but he hadn’t been going since she did the procedure to take the other Chloe’s memories and she figured it might help him. “Stay nearby?” 

“Yeah,” he said quietly, dropping a quick kiss to her forehead. “I’ll take a comm device.” 

“I’ll be online,” she said, her voice strained. 

“I love you,” he whispered against her ear. 

Chloe closed her eyes and turned her head toward his, her lips brushing against his jaw. “I love you.”

He wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly for a long moment. “I’ll be home soon.” 

She wrapped her arms just as tightly around him, keeping her eyes closed as she buried her face against his chest. “I’ll be here,” she promised.

Oliver held her close, resting his chin atop her head. He’d go out patrolling. But it could wait a few more minutes. Who knew how much time they had together?


	2. Chapter 2

It only took three days for the remaining members of the budding Justice League to gather in Metropolis to mourn the loss of their youngest member. On Bart’s part, his sacrifice had somehow destroyed the radiation surrounding Clark, thus allowing Clark and Lois to be reunited. So when the gang congregated in Kansas, some stayed with Lois and Clark, while others stayed with Chloe and Oliver. 

To Oliver, everything felt surreal. He’d barely slept since Bart died, and he’d been out patrolling three times. He knew Chloe wasn’t sleeping either, which worried him, but what could he really say that wouldn’t make him a hypocrite? She knew he was concerned, but they didn’t talk about it. And they didn’t talk about the baby or the solution that she had proposed. Every time he thought about it, he felt sick. 

But as the rest of the JL members began to pour into the clocktower where the memorial for Bart was being held, he forced all those thoughts away the best he could. They had to get through today, and he wasn’t going to be able to do that if he was thinking about what they were facing. 

Once Clark and Lois appeared on the security camera, Chloe finally pulled away from her computer and stood up. She hadn’t given up on the search for Bart for almost two full days, but when Clark finally stopped by to tell them what exactly had happened, she had to force herself to believe he was really gone. 

Of course none of this was easy on any of them. Bart was the youngest, he was the loudest and the sweetest of all the members of the team. He was like everyone’s little brother. But she knew Clark and Oliver were taking it the hardest. Clark blamed himself for being there and not being able to do anything, and Oliver blamed himself for pulling Bart into the team to begin with. Chloe just had to remind both of them that this was Bart’s choice, and hope that with time, it would make it a little easier on them. 

With a deep breath, she walked over to where her husband stood and placed a hand on his back, rubbing it gently as she looked up at him.

He offered her a pained smile and then looked over to where Clark was standing with Lois. “It’s good to see them together again,” he murmured.

“Yeah,” she agreed in a whisper, sliding her hand in his and wrapping her fingers through his. “I’m glad he can be with her.”

And vice versa, he thought, though he didn’t voice it. “Nothing like a funeral to bring the band back together.” His voice was quiet.

Chloe took a deep breath and looked down, nodding. The last one they had been at had been Tess’, and it felt like this was far too soon for another one. But this was how their lives were.

“Need anything?” he asked, glancing at her sideways. 

“No,” she whispered, looking up at him. “Do you?”

He shook his head. “I’m all right.” Which wasn’t true. He wasn’t all right. None of them were. 

“We should go say hi to Lois and Clark,” she said. At least it would give them all a distraction.

Truthfully he didn’t feel like talking to any of their guests, but he followed her wordlessly to the other pair, trying to smile though it turned out more like a grimace. 

“Hey,” Chloe greeted the two of them quietly, trying for a smile too, but not quite managing it. She just felt exhausted. 

Clark turned to face the two of them and simply nodded his greeting.

Lois looked between the two of them. They looked even worse than Clark did. She moved closer to Chloe, hugging her. “How are you doing?” she whispered.

Chloe returned the hug and managed a nod. “Okay,” she said quietly. She’d been hoping the next time the four of them were together, it would be because things had settled down and they were finally ready to announce the news about the baby. She had been secretly looking forward to this because she knew how happy it was going to make Ollie. Now she didn’t know if they were ever going to tell anyone at all.

Oliver watched the cousins embrace and he exhaled, reaching up to rub the back of his neck. He glanced at Clark and eased his way away from the three of them, heading for the balcony. Maybe some air would do him good.

Glancing over her shoulder, Chloe watched him go then looked back at Lois. “How are you?”

“I’m okay,” she answered. She felt immense relief that she and Clark could be together again, but it felt like a selfish emotion when it came at such a high price.

Clark looked over at Lois then walked away, too. Over toward the small memorial set in a corner of the room. 

“How is he?” Chloe asked her cousin in a whisper.

“Not good,” Lois admitted.

Nodding, she looked down then back at Lois. “At least he can be home. With you.”

“Yeah,” she whispered. “How’s Ollie dealing?” 

“Not well,” she said, pursing her lips together. 

“Yeah, I kinda figured that.” Lois looked toward the balcony, sighing softly. “Let me guess. He’s blaming himself, too?” 

“Yeah,” Chloe said. They all were, one way or another. But it didn’t change anything. “Bart was just... family.”

“I...didn’t really know him that well,” she said quietly. 

“I know.” Lois had only recently become a part of their secrets, after all. 

“Is there something I can be doing? For you? Or to help the rest of them?” she asked uncertainly, looking around at the small crowd that had gathered.

“I think everything is set up.” They couldn’t have an actual funeral, since there had been nothing left, just this small memorial, with all of Bart’s friends and the small homage they had for him now at the JSA headquarter, next to Carter’s. 

She sighed softly and nodded, looking down at the floor. 

Chloe glanced at Lois and nodded, knowing the look on her face. “I wish there was more I could do, too.”

Lois looped her arm through her cousin’s. “Clark said that Bart always had a crush on you.” 

Her chest tightened at that and Chloe nodded. “Not always, but he did at first,” she said.

“Well, obviously he had great taste.” She squeezed her gently.

“He was a good kid,” Chloe told her quietly. “I think he wanted to be a part of a family as much as Ollie, he just went about it differently.”

Lois nodded. “I get that,” she murmured.

Chloe sighed deeply and shook her head when her eyes teared up. She was exhausted and mostly numb by now, but it was still so clear how fragile they all were, it was hard not to think about it.

Catching sight of her cousin's tears, she wrapped her other arm around her. “Come on. Why don’t we sit down? I’ll get you some coffee. You look like you could use the caffeine.” 

Chloe paused and nodded. She’d found out it was easier to accept the coffee and just not drink it than say she didn’t want any, because she couldn’t have any. “Why don’t you go get the coffee started and I’ll go check on Ollie?”

“All right.” She gave her another gentle hug and then let her go, heading for the kitchen.

With a long, deep breath, Chloe watched Lois go then started toward the balcony. As if today wasn’t bad enough, she also hated being around everyone and having to watch what she was saying and doing so they wouldn’t suspect anything, especially now. She just wanted to get today over with.

Oliver was leaning against the railing, staring out over the city, wishing he could down an entire bottle of whiskey. He heard Chloe’s footsteps and shut his eyes for a moment, rubbing a hand over his face. “Clark and Lois not talkative?” 

“Clark wandered off, and Lois went to make some coffee,” she whispered, placing a hand on the small of his back as she stepped up to his side.

He pursed his lips. He supposed it didn’t matter if she started drinking coffee again, all things considered. He just nodded.

Chloe leaned her head against his shoulder and took a deep breath, eyes on the city. They still had so much to figure out, on top of stopping the crisis they had been warned about and all she wanted to do was lay down and sleep for a few days.

After a moment, he slowly wrapped his arm around her and pressed a kiss to her temple. 

She relaxed just slightly against his side and closed her eyes, wrapping both arms around him. Part of her was just relieved that he didn’t hate her for what she was suggesting about the baby, part of her was hoping he would be completely against it so her decision would be easy.

Oliver exhaled, shutting his eyes as he pulled her into his arms. “I wish the day was over,” he muttered.

“Me too,” she admitted, arms tightening around him. 

He wondered what they would do when it was. 

* * *

The day felt like it had lasted forever. Once everyone was gone, they both agreed to leave the clean up for the following day and got ready for bed. On her part, Chloe was absolutely exhausted, both physically and emotionally and she felt like she had finally managed to get her brain to shut down enough so that she could sleep. 

After hanging her robe, she crawled into bed and sighed deeply. Her chest was still tight and she felt like something was missing, but she hoped having Oliver there would be enough to help her relax.

He’d taken a hot shower and pulled on a t-shirt and boxers, which was more than what he usually slept in. He stood in the doorway of the bedroom for a long moment, watching her as she lay in the bed. Then he drew in a breath and moved over to the bed, sitting down on the edge of the mattress. 

She kept her eyes on him until he was settled, then she turned on her side slightly. “How are you doing?”

“Tired,” he said quietly, shutting his eyes and laying his forearm over his face. “You?” 

“Tired,” she agreed, keeping her eyes on him still.

“Think you’ll be able to sleep?” he asked, turning his head toward her slightly.

“Hopefully, you?” she asked, watching him.

Considering he’d downed four sleeping pills from their bathroom cabinet, he hoped so, too. Instead of saying so, he nodded.

“I think her memories are over,” Chloe said, at least maybe that would help him worry slightly less. 

“That’s good to hear,” he murmured.

“You don’t have to stay with me 24/7 anymore,” she added, closing her eyes.

“I haven’t been the last few days.” Guilt tugged at him even as he said the words. 

“I haven’t seen anything since...” she assured him, her own chest tight with guilt. 

Oliver opened his eyes and turned to look at her. He was quiet for a moment, and then he wrapped his arm around her, shifting closer to her so their bodies were pressed together. Wordlessly he reached up to stroke her hair. 

Chloe sighed deeply and turned to face him, her arm going around him, her leg tangling between his. She felt like he was both pulling away from her and needing her as close as possible most of the time these days, so being physically close to him was even more comforting than usual.

“I almost asked him,” he murmured.

She opened her eyes again at the words, lifting her head slightly to look at her husband. “Asked him what?”

“To turn back time.” Oliver opened his eyes, staring up at the ceiling.

Chloe held her breath and tightened her arm around him. “He wouldn’t have,” she whispered. “Bart wouldn’t have wanted us to,” she said as firmly as her voice would allow her.

“Not just for Bart,” he admitted. “For us.” 

Her stomach clenched and she suddenly felt nauseous again. “We don’t know what it would change.”

“I know.” Oliver pursed his lips. “And he wouldn’t have anyway.” 

“It could have taken you away,” she whispered, closing her eyes once more.

“Maybe,” he murmured. “But maybe it could have saved you.”

“Saved me?” she echoed, shaking her head. “Saved me from what?”

He stared up at the ceiling for a moment longer, then shut his eyes. “From taking on these memories.” From finding out what was coming. 

“I don’t regret the memories if it means doing what we can to save _our_ Earth,” she said sincerely, reaching to cup his cheek. “As long as you’re with me.”

He wished he didn’t regret it. “Maybe the cost was too high, Chloe.” His voice was barely audible.

“What are you saying?” She asked, pulling herself up on her elbow so she could look at him better.

“Maybe we’re better off not knowing what’s coming,” he answered, rubbing a hand over his face. 

“And what would happen if we didn’t know? What would have happened if we hadn’t been warned about Zod?” she asked, shaking her head. “We may not deserve the chance we were given, but we owe it to everyone we’ve lost so far to keep fighting for as long as we can, with everything we can.”

Oliver didn’t answer, though his stomach turned in response to her words. Right then he didn’t feel like fighting anymore. He didn’t feel like doing anything. He just wanted to pass out.

“You’re the one who told me two days ago that we couldn’t give up,” she whispered, brushing a thumb over his cheek. She wanted to ask what had changed, but she knew exactly what it was.

“We should try to sleep,” he told her quietly. 

Chloe sighed deeply and shook her head. “I felt what it would have been like to lose you once, Oliver. I never want to feel it again,” she said, hesitating before laying back down.

He held his breath for a moment, turning on his side to face her, and draping his arm around her once more. “I’m not suicidal, Chloe.” He wasn’t much of anything.

“Giving up is the same thing,” she whispered, meeting his eyes.

He held her gaze for a few seconds, then kissed her cheek, tightening his arm around her, hand resting over her stomach.

She closed her eyes tightly when she felt his hand on her stomach, guilt immediately rushing through her, even as she reached to cover his hand. The idea of giving up on their child hurt almost as much as watching the other version of herself lose her version of Oliver. The idea of putting him through this made it even worse.

“I know,” he said simply, laying his head down beside hers on the pillow. 

Chloe let out a shaky breath and turned her head toward him, pressing her forehead to his even though she kept her eyes closed. She couldn’t look at him.

He kept his eyes closed, too, unaware of the tear that made its way down his cheek as he began to drift toward sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

After the memorial, the rest of the team had stayed in town for a few more days. Vic and AC were the ones staying at the Clocktower and while it had been nice to have them around, Chloe was glad they could have the apartment to themselves again. 

And being on their own again meant they would be able to talk. Oliver had been both physically close and emotionally distant the past few days and while she couldn’t blame him, she was also growing anxious. She needed them to make a decision before it was too late. Now she just had to figure out how to bring it up with him again. 

With a deep breath, she sipped on her tea and moved to sit down on the couch. She could still hear the shower running and while normally she would have no problem in stepping in with him, she wanted to give him some more time.

Oliver finished his shower and dressed in silence, tugging on a button down shirt and a pair of jeans. There were things he needed to do today, including grocery shopping, but when he spotted Chloe on the sofa, he knew that was going to have to move to the backburner. He could tell by the expression on her face that she was done avoiding the subject. Part of him wanted to just go back to the bedroom to pretend he hadn’t seen her there, but he couldn’t make himself move away from the entrance of the living room. It was like he was rooted to the floor.

Chloe looked up at him and pursed her lips together. She didn’t know what to say, but she could tell by the look on his face that he didn’t want to be there. That was fine, she didn’t want to have this conversation either, but they needed to. “Sit down?” she suggested.

He remained silent for a long time, then slowly moved over to sit down on the sofa, keeping a couple feet of space between them. He exhaled, resting his elbows on his knees.

She sighed deeply at his body language and looked away, shaking her head as her chest tightened. She couldn’t talk to him, not like this. There was no point. 

“I guess we have to make an appointment first?” His voice was quiet, distant.

Her stomach dropped at his words, her eyes wide as she turned to look at him. Even though she was trying to find the words, she couldn’t seem to. Her eyes teared up almost instantly and she looked down at the mug she was holding between her hands. She never expected him to agree to this, she had been _hoping_ he wouldn’t, but apparently, he had made up his mind. “I can call Emil,” she whispered, her voice weak.

“I don’t know that Emil’s qualified to perform that kind of procedure.” He stared down at his hands. “I think it takes a specialist.” 

Chloe set her mug down on the coffee table and rubbed her hands over her face. She couldn’t think straight anymore. It was her turn to want to run to the bedroom and never leave, but this had been her suggestion and it would probably be for the best. 

He couldn’t bring himself to look at her. After a moment, he rose to his feet, heading for the kitchen wordlessly.

Sighing deeply, she pulled her legs over the couch and hugged them to her chest. She knew this was as hard on him as it was on her, but if he agreed that this was the best for their child too, then maybe it was the best option.

Tired of resisting the familiar urge, Oliver pulled out a bottle of whiskey and poured himself a glass, downing it quickly and pouring another.

She glanced over toward the kitchen, watching him for a moment before standing up. There was nothing left to say, apparently. She paused on her way to the bedroom, wondering if she should drink a couple of glasses to see if it would help knock her out for a while. But she couldn’t bring herself to so with a deep breath, she continued down the hallway quietly.

He felt more than saw her pass the kitchen on the way to the bedroom. He finished his drink, holding so tightly onto his glass that it shattered in his hand. Just like everything else.

Chloe stilled when she heard the noise and took a deep breath, walking back to the kitchen, her eyes widening when she realized the glass had shattered in his hand. “Oliver,” she breathed, walking up to him.

“It’s fine,” he told her, moving to the sink and shaking his hand over it, watching the shards sprinkle down into the garbage disposal. 

“You’re bleeding,” she said, walking up to him and reaching for his hand.

Oliver pursed his lips as she examined his hand. “All the glass isn’t out,” he said, pulling away so she wouldn’t wind up cutting herself. He leaned his forearms on the sink and began to pluck the glass from his skin.

“Will you stop?” she said firmly. “I see it isn’t out, we need tweezers.” 

“Be careful. There’s probably glass on the floor,” he warned, glancing down.

With a deep breath, she nodded and turned away from him. “Come to the bathroom,” she said, careful as she walked out of the kitchen.

He watched her head out of the room, then shut his eyes, pushing himself away from the kitchen sink and following her down the hall silently.

Chloe pulled the first aid kit out of the cabinet and waited for him. She was irritated now, but she was trying hard not to take it out on him. She knew that was how he dealt with things, but selfishly, she just wanted to lay down and not to have to do this.

He moved into the bathroom, pausing just inside the door, watching as she pulled out the first aid kit. “I can do this,” he said quietly.

“I can do it,” she said without looking at him. “Sit down.”

He wanted to protest, but he just didn’t have the energy. He moved to sit down on the closed toilet lid. He looked up at her wordlessly.

She picked up the tweezers and focused on his hand. She wanted to ask him when he’d decided, but she couldn’t bring herself to talk. She was tired and she knew there was no point in asking questions, not when they both knew this was what had to be done.

Oliver’s jaw tightened and he gritted his teeth together as she removed the ragged glass shards from his palm one at a time. 

Chloe was as careful as she could be but there was blood all over his hand now and she could barely see the glass anymore. “Need to wash it before I can continue,” she said, glancing at him before reaching to open the tap. She was doing her best to keep her voice and expression blank, but it took so much energy.

He slid his hand under the water, wincing as it stung in the various cuts. He watched as the blood swirled down the drain like a red and pink paint pallette. 

At the sight of it, Chloe felt her stomach turn and she suddenly felt light headed. Seeing blood had never bothered her before, but she suddenly felt like she was going to faint, so she placed both hands on the sink and took a couple of deep breaths. 

“Chloe?” There was a hint of alarm in his voice. He pulled his hand out from under the water, quickly wrapping an arm around her waist. Her face had drained of all color and she looked like she was going to pass out or vomit, or both. 

She leaned into him instantly, looking up and away from the blood once she opened her eyes. “Got dizzy,” she muttered, taking another deep breath and feeling relieved when that seemed to help her stomach settle.

“You should lie down,” he told her, keeping his arm around her.

“Your hand,” she said, looking down at his face.

“I can take it from here,” he assured her, guiding her out of the bathroom and into their bedroom.

She wanted to protest, but she couldn’t bring herself to. As soon as she was next to the bed, she moved to sit down on it. This just confirmed that she was as weak as she felt at the moment.

“Get some rest,” he said softly, hesitating a moment and then pulling a blanket up and over her. He paused at the sight of the bloody handprint that he’d just made on her shirt, on the covers. He grimaced and looked away.

Her stomach turned again when she saw the blood on her shirt, but she closed her eyes quickly and did her best not to move. How was she supposed to help stop a crisis when she couldn’t even help Oliver with his wounds? How was she supposed to keep anyone, including him and their child safe, when she was this weak, this vulnerable?

“I’m sorry. I’m--I’ll get you a different shirt when I get my hand wrapped,” he said, voice thick as he turned away quickly, heading for the bathroom.

She nodded but kept her eyes closed even as she felt them getting warm with tears. She knew this was the right decision, but it didn’t feel that way.

Oliver closed the bathroom door, retching into the toilet as soon as he pulled the lid up. When he recovered several moments later, he wrapped his hand in a towel, flushed the toilet and leaned against the sink. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly before leaving the room, pulling a clean t-shirt out of their closet for her and moving back to the bed. “Here,” he said quietly.

Chloe had heard him, it was impossible not to. She knew why she felt nauseous, but she also knew him feeling sick had nothing to do with the sight of blood. She sat up carefully and took the shirt from him, but didn’t move to change it. “How is your hand?”

“It’s fine,” he told her, holding it up to show her it was wrapped thoroughly.

Nodding, she looked at him for just a moment before looking away again and pulling her shirt off before she had to look at the blood on it.

He took the blood-stained shirt from her and headed toward the door silently.

Chloe changed quickly, then took a moment before forcing herself up. They couldn’t sleep on those sheets and she didn’t want him to have to do everything with his hand like that.

He started a load of laundry with just her shirt, treating it before throwing it into the washing machine. When he returned and found her stripping the bed, he held his breath. He moved to the other side of the mattress, pulling the sheets off.

“I got it,” she told him quietly, looking over at him.

“We’ll do it together,” he answered, not looking at her.

Her chest tightened at his words. With a deep breath, she nodded and reached to pull the sheets on her side of the bed. 

He gathered the sheets when they were off the mattress, carrying them toward the door and heading for the laundry room once more. 

Sighing deeply, Chloe watched him go then reached inside the closet and pulled a clean set of sheets from the top shelf. 

Oliver returned when he dropped the dirty sheets into a basket, hesitating and looking at his hand. “I don’t want to ruin the clean sheets.” 

“I’ll finish it up,” she said quietly, not looking at him as she tucked the corners under the mattress.

He rubbed his good hand over his face, looking away, toward the window. “What do you want me to do?” he asked, voice almost inaudible.

“There’s nothing to do,” she said, unfolding another sheet over the bed, her stomach getting tighter again.

“Isn’t there?” he asked, unable to stop himself. 

Chloe closed her eyes and shook her head, finishing with the sheets before turning to look at him. “What do you want me to say, Oliver?”

Oliver’s stomach tightened and he looked away again. “I don’t know.” 

She sat down on the bed and watched him for a long moment. “I’m useless like this.”

“You’re anything but useless, Chloe,” he answered, shaking his head.

“It doesn’t matter,” she said, looking down. She wasn’t going to have her pregnancy symptoms much longer.

“Right,” he said, jaw tightening. “Of course not.” 

“Oliver,” she sighed tiredly. “I know this is too much, but we can’t turn on each other now.”

“It is,” he agreed quietly, shoulders slumping.

“What can I do?” she asked, holding her breath.

“Like you said. There’s nothing to do.” He rubbed the back of his neck.

“I can’t live with you hating me for this,” she said, her jaw tight. She might have suggested it, but he obviously agreed.

“I don’t hate you,” he said flatly.

Chloe smiled humorlessly at how much his tone contradicted his words.

“If this is what you want, this is what we’ll do,” he said, his tone full of finality as he moved toward the door.

“Wait,” she said, standing up. “You’re putting this all on _me_?” she asked, staring at him in disbelief.

“Well, it was your idea, Chloe.” He didn’t turn to face her, even though he stopped walking.

“And you agreed,” she reminded him, crossing her arms over her chest.

“And what choice do I _really_ have here?” he asked, shaking his head as he turned to look at her, eyes dark. 

Her eyes widened at that, she couldn’t believe he was actually saying that to her. “You have as much of a choice as I do. But it’s easier to just get angry and blame it on me, isn’t it?”

“No, I don’t,” he said, looking away. “Because at the end of the day, you’re the only one who can make that call.” 

“I can’t believe you,” she said, her jaw tight. “I would _never_ do this without your consent and the fact that you seem to believe I would just makes it _very_ clear how you really see me.”

He scoffed, staring at her. “You’re kidding me, right? What is it you wanted me to say, Chloe? No, don’t abort our baby even though it’s what you want to do? So you can hate me for the rest of your life?” 

“It’s really far from being what I _want_ to do!” she said loudly, her jaw tight. “But under the circumstances, I don’t see any other options, Oliver. What I _do_ expect from you is being able to talk this out with you so we can reach an _agreement_ on what is best for it.”

He forced himself to take a deep breath. “What if the crisis happens and everything turns out fine? What if we do this and everything turns out to be okay? We didn’t have a lot of hope when Zod was a threat, or when Darkseid was possessing me. But we got through those, right? Why are you so sure this is it? That this is the thing that takes us out?” 

“Because I saw what she saw,” she said, shaking her head. “I saw what those things did to her Earth and I saw that nothing, not even Clark was able to stop it from happening. She was the _only_ survivor, Oliver. And the only reason she survived was because she got on that ship and came here. But it didn’t matter, because they _followed_ her here.”

“Yes, they killed _her_. But she is not you, and he was not me and things are as different as they could possibly get between the two worlds. When Lois went to the future, we were all dead from Zod, but we stopped that,” he pointed out. “Nothing is set in stone, Chloe.” 

“No. It isn’t,” she said, her voice calmer, her eyes tearing up again. “We can’t control what happens and we have both agreed we will keep on fighting, we’re not going to run. What happens if we both die and that child survives, Oliver? What happens if everyone who was supposed to take care of it is gone?” she asked, her voice shaking. “You never forgave your parents for leaving you behind, for being involved with Veritas even though they knew it was dangerous. What if this is exactly what this kid has to go through? Or worse.”

Oliver stared at her for a moment, falling silent, his breathing heavy. “There’s always going to be some threat. Something that will make us doubt everything we do.” 

“I don’t question what we do,” she said, looking down and sitting on the edge of the bed once more. “I question how it will affect it.”

“Then maybe we should stop.” 

Chloe stared up at him and took a deep breath. “Do you really believe we can?” 

“If that’s what we choose to do? Yeah. Maybe we can’t have it all. Maybe we have to make a choice between the life we’ve been living and the life we could have.” 

She sighed deeply and looked down. She didn’t really believe he could give it up so easily. Maybe for a while but eventually, she was sure it was going to drive them both crazy. Still, if this was the only option... “What about the crisis?”

“Fuck the crisis,” he whispered.

Chloe stared at him for a moment then shook her head, rubbing her hands over her face.

“What if I could get you answers?” he asked suddenly. “About what happens?” 

“How?” she asked, looking up at him. 

“That doesn’t matter. What if it was possible?” He stared at her intently.

“It does matter, Oliver,” she said, standing up. “Last time I looked into the future, all of you almost died. Carter did,” she reminded him.

“That wasn’t because you looked into the future, Chloe. It was because that’s what was going to happen, period.” 

She looked at him for a moment then nodded. “If you were talking about the helmet then, it might be worth a try.”

Oliver smiled, but it was faint and didn’t reach his eyes. “Then I’ll be back,” he whispered, turning and heading out the door.

“Wait,” she called, walking over to him. “Let me change, I’m coming with you.”

“Chloe, you’re exhausted,” he said, frowning as he turned to look at her.

“I’m not letting you go alone,” she said, looking up at him.

He pursed his lips, meeting her eyes and then nodding slightly. 

Chloe nodded back at him then headed back into the closet so she could change quickly. Maybe this would be the best way to decide this.


	4. Chapter 4

He knew something wasn’t right when they approached the JSA Brownstone, only to see shattered glass all over the ground just outside. Tensing, he glanced at Chloe. “Maybe you should wait in the car,” he whispered.

“No,” she said, reaching for the gun inside her purse. 

Oliver reached for the one in his waistband, pulling it out and approaching the door as quietly as he could. Almost immediately he could hear a whispering and his heart began to beat faster against his chest as he made his way inside the Brownstone. 

Chloe looked over at her husband and shifted closer to him, just in case they found themselves surrounded. She could hear the whispering too, but she couldn’t make out the words just yet. 

_“Foolish Archer,”_ the helmet whispered. _“Willing to trade it all for the sake of one child.”_

Oliver’s jaw tightened as he peered into the dark museum. 

Holding her breath, Chloe glanced over at Oliver then stilled when she heard footsteps. “Someone is coming,” she whispered, pointing her gun toward the darkened hallway.

He stilled, too, eyes darting around. He gently took hold of her arm, pulling her around the corner and out of sight beside him. 

She rushed away from the noise with him, her eyes wide as they started to run. At the end of the hallway, she grabbed his arm and pulled him into the room where she knew the helmet was.

The whispering was louder now. _“Always taking the easy way out, always willing to sacrifice yourselves for one another,”_ it accused. 

Oliver reached out, pulling open the glass cabinet and picking up the helmet. 

“I’ll watch the door,” Chloe said, ignoring the whispers and turning to face the way they had come in through. “Sit down before you put it on,” she warned him, glancing at him over her shoulder.

He took her advice, sitting down and holding onto the helmet. “Show me what’s to come for our child,” he whispered inaudibly, sliding the mask on. 

“What’s going on?” Clark’s familiar voice asked as he approached the room, eyes wide. “Chloe, what’s he--” 

As soon as she realized it was Clark, she lowered her gun, but stood between him and Oliver. “We thought there was someone here,” she explained, glancing over her shoulder. When she saw the mask was still glowing, she knew it was still showing him everything.

“Why are you--?” He shook his head, taking a step toward her.

She opened her mouth, but closed it immediately after, when she heard the loud clang of the mask falling to the floor. Without hesitating, she walked over to Oliver and set her gun on the floor, cupping his face in her hands. “Ollie?”

He managed a faint smile, but his face was drained of all color. Then his eyes rolled back into his head as he slumped to the floor, unconscious.

Chloe held her breath when he smiled, a small smile appearing on her lips too even as she reached over to feel his pulse. It was strong. “How long did it take me to wake up?” she asked Clark, finally turning to look at him again. 

“A couple hours,” he said, frowning worriedly. “Chloe, what were you two thinking? The helmet is dangerous.” 

“Can you help me get him to the car?” she asked, not answering his question as she brushed Oliver’s hair gently.

“Of course. But maybe I should take him to Emil.” Clark leaned down, picking up the other man easily.

“You’re right,” Chloe said, looking up at him. “I’ll meet you up at the lab?”

Still looking worried, he nodded. “See you soon.” He flew away.

* * * 

It took her less than fifteen minutes to drive over to the lab. She was still exhausted, but the rush of getting to Brownstone, plus wanting to know what Oliver had seen was keeping her awake enough to drive. 

She rushed into Emil’s office as soon as she got there, not surprised to see both Emil and Clark there with Oliver.

“His stats are relatively normal, but there’s no telling how long he’ll be out,” Emil was telling Clark, glancing up when he spotted Chloe.

“So he should be okay?” she asked, walking up to Oliver and reaching for his hand.

“In theory.” He frowned. “That helmet is incredibly dangerous.” 

“We know the risks, Emil,” she told him, focusing her eyes back on Oliver.

“Then why did you do it?” Clark asked quietly.

“Because we need to know more about this Crisis and what it means,” she answered sincerely. At least that part was true.

He was silent for a moment. “And we won’t know what the outcome is until Oliver wakes up.” 

“He smiled at me,” she said, smiling softly too as she reached to cup Oliver’s face.

Clark watched her, then shifted his gaze to Oliver, falling silent once more.

“We have a good reason, Clark,” she said, glancing at Emil then at her friend. “You just have to trust me on this.”

“I do trust you, I just--” He paused, blinking a couple of times and then staring at her with wide eyes. 

Chloe paused too at the look on his face, glancing behind herself then back at him, confused. “What?”

“There’s another heartbeat,” he whispered.

Her stomach clenched instantly and she stared at him, her own eyes widening.

“You’re pregnant,” Clark said softly.

Her heart skipped a beat and she looked down. She knew there was no point in denying it, but the last person she wanted to tell about the baby right now was Clark. Especially if everything Oliver saw _hadn’t_ been good. 

“Let me know if there’s any change,” Emil said, looking between them before heading out of the office.

Clark reached out and rested a hand on her shoulder, a soft smile touching his mouth. “Congratulations.” 

Her eyes teared up and she finally looked up at him, nodding slightly. “Thank you,” she whispered. 

Confusion flickered over his face at the sight of her tears. “Does Lois know?”

“No one knows,” she said, shaking her head. “We were waiting for things to settle down before...” she trailed off, taking a deep breath. “You can’t tell her, Clark. You can’t tell anyone.” 

“Chloe, what’s going on?” he asked, shaking his head.

“We just need things to be safe for it, Clark,” she explained, her stomach turning. “We’re doing everything we can.”

Clark stared at her. “What are you saying?” 

“That we’re not ready for anyone to know,” she said quietly, looking up at him. 

“And that’s all?” 

“Yes,” she lied, holding her breath. 

He searched her eyes, then relaxed. “Okay. I won’t say anything to Lois.” 

“Thank you,” she breathed, looking up at him and nodding.

He nodded, too, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze. Then his gaze traveled to Oliver’s pale face. “Hopefully he’ll wake up soon.” 

“Hopefully,” she agreed, focusing on Oliver again. “You can go if you want to. You’ve spent enough time away from my cousin as is,” she said, managing to add a smile when she glanced back at Clark.

“Okay. If you need me, just call,” he told her, leaning down and kissing her cheek lightly. “I’ll see you soon.” 

“See you soon,” she said quietly. “And thank you.”

“Anytime, Chloe.” He smiled softly and headed away. 

Once he was out of the room, Chloe sighed deeply, her chest tight again. She had some hope now, thanks to the smile on Oliver’s face after he saw the future, but she couldn’t get her hopes up too much since she still didn’t know details. With a deep breath, she climbed onto the narrow bed he was in and laid down next to him, wrapping her arm tightly around him. She just needed him to wake up soon and tell her what he knew.

* * * 

Oliver woke up slowly, his head pounding like he’d whacked it on a piece of concrete after falling off a roof. He groaned involuntarily, starting to sit up, but pausing when he opened his eyes enough to see his wife’s head resting on his chest. Instantly he wrapped his arm around her, resting his head back down on the pillow beneath his neck. Opening his eyes more, he realized he wasn’t at home. From the plain white walls and equipment, he recognized he was in Emil’s lab.

When she felt him shifting, Chloe woke up too. It only took her a moment to force her eyes open and lift her head to look at him. Her body could barely handle being awake again so soon after falling asleep, apparently, but her brain was instantly awake and ready to start firing questions. “Ollie?” She asked, looking up at him but not moving much so she wouldn’t fall off the bed.

He tightened his arm around her to make sure she wouldn’t fall. “Hey,” he murmured. 

“How are you feeling?” she asked, lifting a hand to cup his cheek.

“Like I got hit by a truck.” 

“Is your head hurting?” she asked, shifting to try and get up.

“Yeah,” he admitted.

“I’ll find something for you,” she told him, moving to get down from the bed even though her body felt heavy.

“Just stay still,” he whispered, keeping her close.

“We’re at the labs,” she told him with a frown, but stopped moving.

“I know.” He drew in a breath, rubbing her back.

“What did you see?” she asked, unable to stop herself any longer.

Oliver was quiet for a moment. “All I remember is an explosion. Big. Bright.” 

Her face fell instantly. “An explosion?” she echoed, swallowing hard.

“I don’t know what it was,” he whispered, shutting his eyes. 

Her chest was tight and she couldn’t help but feel disappointed. She knew that things weren’t always clear, but an explosion just couldn’t be good. Still, she didn’t have the heart to tell him that right now. “It will come back to you, little by little,” she promised, sighing softly.

“Is that what it was like for you?” he asked, turning his head toward her. 

“I saw some things,” she whispered. “I knew where to find you, I knew Clark was going to be able to fly, but I didn’t see much more until it got closer to things happening,” she told him.

“So it may not have made any difference,” he whispered.

“Give yourself some time,” she muttered, leaning in and pressing her lips to his cheek even as she closed her eyes, her chest tight. Time was one thing they _didn’t_ have.

“Maybe there’s something Emil can do to speed up the process,” he suggested.

“We can talk to him,” Chloe said, pursing her lips together as she lifted her head to look at him. “But he wasn’t happy we did this.”

“Well, that’s his problem.” He struggled to sit up.

Chloe slid down from the bed and on her feet, taking a deep breath. “Clark wasn’t happy either,” she added quietly.

Oliver wasn’t surprised by that, but he didn’t say anything. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and started to stand up. Immediately dizziness swept over him and he leaned heavily against the bed.

“Be careful,” she warned, holding onto his arm. “Maybe we need to let Emil look at you before we go home.”

“I’m all right. I just want to see if he knows a way to make the memories come back faster.” 

“You need to sit down, I’ll go get him,” Chloe said, looking up at him.

He blew out a breath, reluctantly sitting on the edge of the bed once more. “Okay.” 

“I’ll be right back,” Chloe promised, watching him worriedly before heading out of the office.

Oliver watched her go, then rubbed his hands over his face, looking around the lab. He hoped like hell that Emil had a way to make him remember fast, and that the memories were good ones.


	5. Chapter 5

When Emil had been unable to help them with a way to spur his memories from the visions the helmet gave him, the two of them had set a deadline. If in two weeks he hadn’t had any relevant memories, they would make the decision without waiting any longer. One way or the other. When the two weeks were up, Oliver found himself dreading going home from work that day because he knew how she felt. He knew what decision she wanted to make. He waited as long as he could, lingering in the office and tying up loose ends that were irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. 

And then he went home.

She had been dreading the day just as much as he was. They hadn’t talked about it at all since the night he saw the helmet and she had been hoping as hard as she could that he would come home with good news today. But the later it got, the more she knew it wasn’t going to happen. 

Chloe had tried keeping herself busy, had tried working, showering, sleeping, reading, but nothing worked. By the time she heard the elevator, her stomach was in knots even as she paced the floor.

He stepped off the elevator, immediately seeing her pacing and pausing in his tracks. He held his breath, then slowly shook his head, swallowing the lump in his throat.

Her face fell and she let out a breath, looking down and nodding a little. They couldn’t wait any longer, not with how far into her pregnancy she already was. This was it.

“I guess this means we have to make a decision,” he whispered.

“It does,” she agreed in a whisper, all her nervous energy from earlier seemed to have drained in a second.

Oliver swallowed hard, moving to sit down on the sofa. He set his briefcase down on the floor and reached up to loosen his tie. “I didn’t want to come home tonight,” he admitted very softly.

She sighed deeply, watching him for a moment before moving to sit down next to him, but leaving some room between them. “I was hoping it would have showed you something.”

“Me too,” he whispered. “I guess luck just doesn’t run in our favor these days.” 

“Neither does time,” she muttered, rubbing her hands over her face.

“So what do we do?” 

“We talk this out,” she said, her voice weak as she looked down at her lap.

“Weigh the pro’s and con’s?” 

“More like reasons why this would be better for it,” she whispered, unable to look at him.

“Or reasons it wouldn’t.” He looked down, too.

“Yeah,” she agreed. “Although I think we’re going to have an easier time coming up with those.” Because she knew this wasn’t what either one of them wanted. 

“Then maybe we should listen to ourselves,” he suggested.

“As much as I want to,” she said, closing her eyes. “I don’t think I could live with myself if something goes wrong. If we fail it.”

Oliver was silent for a moment. “Can you live with yourself if we do this and then we avert the crisis?” he asked quietly.

“I don’t know,” she answered sincerely. 

He rubbed his hands over his face, falling silent and leaning back against the sofa, staring at the wall.

“I just can’t stop thinking about our own lives,” she said, shaking her head. “The choices your parents and my mother made. Choices that ended up hurting up so much, even if it wasn’t their intention. Choices that were probably the hardest thing they ever did because they wanted us to be safe.”

“But if they had made the choice that we’re talking about right now, we wouldn’t be here right now,” he whispered.

“I know,” she agreed, sighing deeply. “But I also wonder if _we_ would be able to leave if it meant protecting it. To never see our child again for his own good,” she muttered, her voice wavering as her chest tightened. If this was hard now, she couldn’t even imagine how leaving a child they had gotten to know would be. 

“I guess uh...I guess that means we have our answer.” He shut his eyes.

Chloe turned to look at him at that, her eyes tearing up. “Can _you_ live with yourself?” she whispered.

He exhaled, tears in his eyes when he looked at her. “I guess we’ll find out.” 

Her face fell at the look on his face. Any strength she had left instantly evaporating as tears ran down her face. They both knew this was that they had to do, as much as they wanted to deny it, she knew he knew it too. She just didn’t know what it would do to them.

* * *

It took her over twenty-four hours but she had finally managed to make an appointment. She wasn’t going through Emil, she couldn’t face him, and she was almost eleven weeks, so she knew she couldn’t wait any longer. The thought of going was enough to make her sick, added to the fact that she was planning on going alone to avoid any kind of articles about this and the fact that she and Oliver had barely exchanged two words since their decision and she was already having a hard enough time living with herself. 

She didn’t know what it was going to feel like once it was done, but she expected to feel even more like the worst human being on the planet. Both for doing this to their child, and for doing this to Oliver. 

Despite bursts of crying and guilt, she had been managing more and more to make herself feel numb, disconnected. Most of her time had been spent working on everything she had learned from the other Chloe, even as she wished for more of her memories for a chance of getting out of her own head. 

Oliver was sullen as he made his way into the kitchen that evening, putting on a kettle for tea. When it was finished, he poured two mugs and carried one to the office area where she was working. Wordlessly he set one down on her desk in front of her, resting his hand briefly on her shoulder and giving it a squeeze.

“Thank you,” she whispered, keeping her eyes on the screen even though she stopped typing. She had been drinking tea still, for some reason she just couldn’t bring herself to drink coffee or anything that would do it any harm, even if it didn’t matter. 

“Sure,” he murmured, nodding as he moved past her and sat down at his desk, staring out the window. 

Chloe looked over at him, watching him for a long moment once she made sure he wasn’t looking at her. While she still couldn’t wrap her head around the fact that they wouldn’t have a baby, part of her knew that this would eventually be the end of them. She planned on fighting for him with all the strength she could muster, but she knew that part of him would never forgive her for going through with this, no matter if they had agreed to it. She was still taking away his chance at a family and even if he pretended otherwise, she knew he wasn’t going to be able to fully let go. A quieter, more secret part of her hoped she would be gone before she actually lost him too. 

When she felt her eyes getting warm with tears again, she took a deep breath and looked away from him, wiping her face quickly and focusing on her computer once again. 

“I was thinking about making some dinner soon,” he said, feeling her eyes on him, though he didn’t turn to look at her. “Anything in particular sound good?” 

“Whatever you feel like making,” she answered, her voice tight. 

He winced at her tone, shutting his eyes for a second. “I thought maybe that four cheese macaroni,” he whispered. He knew it was one of her favorites, and while he wasn’t a big fan of it himself, he knew she needed the comfort food.

“I’m not really hungry,” she said after a deep breath, doing her best to keep her voice neutral. “You should make something you like.”

“I’m not really hungry either.” He rubbed a hand over his face and reluctantly rose to his feet. It was becoming pretty clear to him she didn’t want him around. At least not right now. He headed for the door wordlessly, not bothering to pick up his cup of tea.

“I’m going in tomorrow,” she said, holding her breath and keeping her eyes on her lap. 

He paused in the doorframe, not turning around. “Oh.” 

“It’d be too dangerous to wait any longer,” she added quietly, rubbing her hands over her face.

Oliver nodded, forcing himself to take a deep breath before looking at her. “I can take the day off,” he murmured.

“Do you think it’s a good idea for you to come?” she asked, turning her chair toward him but not looking at him.

“Yes,” he answered, pursing his lips. Publicity wise, no. But he wasn’t going to let her do this alone. That wasn’t how they worked. 

Chloe paused at that and looked up at him. “We’ll need to be careful so you’re not seen,” she said, holding her breath. She had been planning on fighting him on this, but now that it was so close to actually happening, she realized she didn’t want to be there alone.

He nodded slightly. “We will be.” He gazed at her, opening his mouth to speak again when the hair on the back of his neck suddenly stood on end. Before he had a chance to say anything, or move, an explosion rocked the clock tower, pitching him forward into Chloe’s desk as the window shattered. 

She ducked involuntarily, hitting her desk too on her way to the floor. She could feel more than hear as the window shattered and the glass came flying toward them. A second later, she opened her eyes and searched the room, “Ollie?” she called, her eyes wide.

“I’m okay,” he said, looking toward the broken window. “Are _you_ okay?” He moved over to where she was, putting his hand on her cheek, worried.

“Yeah,” she breathed, shifting closer to him and looking him over to make sure he wasn’t hurt. 

He leaned in, pressing a gentle kiss to the corner of his mouth. “Better go find out what just happened,” he said grimly.

Chloe kissed him softly then stood up, holding out her hand to him. “It seemed like an explosion,” she said, watching him closely still. 

“Probably the one I saw from the helmet.” 

“Probably,” she told him. “We just need to figure out what caused it.”

Nodding, he drew in a breath, letting go of her hand. “I’ll call you,” he whispered as he headed out the door.

“Oliver!” she called, coming after him then stilled, the lights flickering before going out. 

He turned to look at her once more, looking around when the power was extinguished. “Yeah?” 

“I was going to say you shouldn’t go alone,” she explained, then looked around. “If there’s a blackout, this will be big.” 

“I’ll call Clark,” he offered.

“Good idea, I will try to boot up the system through generators,” she said before heading back into the office.

“Chloe.” His voice was sharp, full of anxiety. 

“What?” she asked, turning to look at him even though it was too dark to really see his expression.

“I love you.” He held his breath, then backed away, down the hall, not waiting for a response.

“I love you,” she called after him, holding her breath too as she rushed toward the office. 

* * * 

Fifteen minutes later, he was fastening both of them onto a zip wire. He’d called Clark, who was going to meet them at the Daily Planet, and Chloe hadn’t had any luck getting the computers to run on their backup generator, and she’d insisted on coming with him. Three months ago, he wouldn’t have protested. He had to remind himself that it didn’t matter that she was pregnant anymore. After tomorrow, she wouldn’t be anyway. “Ready?” he asked, securing her to him. 

“Ready,” she said, holding on tight as her own leather jacket rubbed against his due to her adjusting her position. Since they had no idea what to expect out there, she figured she’d dress up for possible combat.

“Hang on,” he warned, winding one of his arms around her waist and taking a deep breath as he let them careen down the line, adrenaline rushing through him.

She kept her eyes out on the city as she tried to spot any fires or any kind of massive destruction but everything was dark and while she could hear the people screaming in confusion, she couldn’t make out anything that sounded like they were hurt. 

They landed on the Planet’s rooftop a moment later, his arm still wound around her as he undid her bindings with one hand, eyes on her face in the dark. “You okay?” His voice was soft.

“Yeah,” she said quietly, keeping her eyes on him. “Are you?”

Oliver nodded, letting his hand linger on her arm a few seconds longer than normal. “I’m all right.” 

She looked at him for a moment then leaned in and pressed her lips to his softly. In the little time she’d had to change, she couldn’t help but wonder and hope that this was going to bring back more memories and maybe, just maybe, they could go back on their decision.

He kissed her back, lifting his hand to her cheek and cupping it in his palm.

Chloe pulled back a moment later and took a deep breath as she looked up at him in silence.

He managed a small smile and then turned when he felt the familiar gust of wind that signaled Clark’s arrival. “‘bout time you showed up, Big Blue,” he said, arching his eyebrows.

Clark walked right up to them, his eyes wide. “I can’t find the source of this,” he admitted. 

“We just got out here. All the computers are down. Won’t even run on the back up generator,” he told Clark. “Is Lois safe?” 

“I took her to Smallville,” he said, then turned to Chloe. “I’ll take you next,” he said, stepping closer. 

Chloe shook her head, eyes widening once more. “I’m staying.” 

“Chloe, it’s too dangerous,” Clark pressed.

Oliver pursed his lips, looking at her with worried eyes, though he remained silent.

“I’ll be fine,” she told Clark, holding her breath then looking at Oliver. “Clark found out,” she said quietly, her stomach turning. “He can hear it.”

His face paled at that information. “Oh.” 

“I didn’t tell anyone,” Clark assured them.

Chloe took a deep breath and shook her head, trying to pull herself together. “What did you see out there?”

“Power’s out everywhere,” Clark told her, looking between them. “A lot of chaos and confusion. A lot of broken glass. Whatever exploded blew out windows and glass doors all over the city,” he told them.

“But there is no fire?” she asked, shaking her head. “No... spaceship?”

“Nothing,” he confirmed. 

“I don’t know if that’s unsettling or something to be relieved about,” Oliver said, looking out over the city.

“I haven’t found people who are hurt by anything other than glass cuts,” Clark said. “I’d say it’s a relief.”

“It is,” Chloe agreed. “But power is out and even generators are down, if Dark Thursday is anything to go by, this will create mass panic.”

“She’s right. We need to be out there, helping,” Oliver said grimly.

“And the more people who see you, the safer they will feel,” Chloe said to Clark.

Oliver nodded his agreement, moving to the edge of the roof and looking down. 

“I’ll keep an ear out for you,” he promised, looking at Chloe for a second before disappearing.

“Thanks,” Oliver whispered as Clark vanished, knowing the other man could still hear him. “I should get down there and help out.” 

“I will come too,” she said, looking up at him. 

“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” He couldn’t help but ask.

“I need to help,” she said, holding her breath. “I will try and handle safer situations, but you need to promise me you’ll be careful too.”

“Always,” he said quietly, moving to her side.

Nodding, she stared up at him. “And I need you to get back safely,” she whispered, even though she knew she had no right to ask him anything.

Wordlessly, Oliver dipped his head and captured her mouth in an intense, soul-shaking kiss. The kind they hadn’t shared recently. “I will. You too,” he whispered.

Chloe breathed, her eyes teary as she nodded but kept her tight grip on his arms. “Let’s go around the block and meet back here before we go anywhere else.” 

“Sounds like a plan. Be careful,” he murmured against her lips before he reluctantly let her go.

Chloe nodded and held her breath, leaning in and pressing her lips firmly to his once more before pulling away. “I’ll see you soon.”

He nodded once more, backing away from her and heading for the edge of the roof.


	6. Chapter 6

They had been doing this system for over an hour now. They’d meet at one of the corners, go opposite ways around the block and meet in the other. The further away they got from downtown, the more worried Chloe was getting for both their safeties. It was pitch black and the areas with more apartments, smaller houses and denser population seemed to be more hostile. 

With a deep breath, she glanced up at her husband and nodded. “I’ll meet you soon,” she said quietly.

“Maybe we should stick together this time around,” he said, unsettled. 

Chloe took a deep breath. “I don’t know if that is better, or getting out of here sooner,” she admitted, pursing her lips together.

“Safety in numbers,” he answered quietly.

“Okay,” she agreed quietly, stepping closer to him. “Take the lead, I’ll be right behind you.”

Feeling more calm now, he nodded, and turned, leading her down the alley toward the gathering crowd on the main street ahead of them. His hand was gripping tightly onto his crossbow.

Chloe tensed too at the crowd, her stomach tight. She had still been way more careful than she normally would be tonight because of the baby. Even if it wouldn’t matter, she couldn’t stop herself. And to face more than a handful of guys between the two of them, while she knew wouldn’t be a problem under normal circumstances, it made her nervous now.

Oliver tensed, too, and for the same reasons. “Back up,” he said loudly, catching the crowd’s attention. Immediately several of them backed away from the alley while others weren’t about to be bothered with listening to any sort of authority.

“Look, it’s Queen,” one of them called. 

“Careful,” Chloe muttered to Oliver, holding her breath. The fact that everyone knew who he was just made it that much worse. Although it usually made some of them underestimate him and that always worked to his advantage.

“We’re here to try and help figure out what’s going on,” he said, keeping Chloe behind him as he held up one hand. 

“We don’t need your kind here,” another man said, pulling out a knife as he came out of the alley.

“You’re going to want to put that down,” Oliver ordered, raising his crossbow.

“And you’re going to want to forget you came here,” a couple more men walked up to him. 

“You better leave before you regret it,” another one added.

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Oliver responded, firing an arrow that pinned the man’s hand to the wall, forcing him to drop the knife. He quickly turned, kicking another man’s legs out from under him. 

As soon as the first man was down, three more came toward Oliver instantly. 

“Get the woman!” another called. 

Chloe rushed forward but watched them for now, it would be better if they underestimated her, too.

Oliver punched one of them in the face, spinning to kick another as a third came at him in a rush. He didn’t see the two right behind him that were also rushing to take him down. 

When the other men got too close and Chloe noticed a third heading toward her, she sprinted in Oliver’s direction, pointing her gun up and firing a warning shot. “Get away from my husband,” she said through clenched teeth as she high kicked one of them on the back so hard, she could swear she felt something crack beneath her foot.

The crowd fell deadly silent at the sound of the gunshot, and the men backed away from Oliver. He looked up at her, wincing as he pressed a hand to his ribs and shot her a faint smile. “Thanks, Gorgeous.” 

“You okay?” she asked, stepping up to him, her heart racing. 

Oliver gave her a brief nod, but before he could say anything else, she vanished right in front of his eyes, in a rush of wind. A second later, he was standing on Clark’s front porch, blinking. Then he promptly threw up in the bushes.

“Ollie?” Chloe called, her own eyes wide. “Clark what are you--” and then she stilled when she saw not Clark, but someone she had never expected to see again standing there, smiling at her.

“Hey, ‘licious.” Bart beamed.

All she could do was stare at him, her eyes beginning to tear up as she took a step forward and wrapped her arms around him tightly.

“Miss me?” he teased, hugging her back. 

“What happened to you, where were you?” she asked in a small voice once she pulled back.

“I don’t know, exactly,” Bart admitted, arching his eyebrows. “I was like stuck.” 

“Stuck?” Chloe echoed, frowning even as she glanced over to make sure Ollie was okay.

Oliver was recovering from throwing up, a hand to his mouth as he stared over at Bart with wide eyes.

“Something like that,” Bart said. “Some kind of limbo between worlds, fighting that dude who wanted my speed. I won, obviously,” he said with a grin. 

Chloe breathed and nodded, hugging him again. “We thought we had lost you for good.”

Oliver managed to get to his feet once more, and slowly headed over to them, hugging them both wordlessly.

Bart hugged both of them back and smiled. “Can’t get rid of me that easily.”

“Glad to hear it,” Oliver told him with a grin. “You scared the hell out of us.” 

“You really did,” Chloe said quietly, smiling too.

“Not going anywhere any time soon,” he told them. “Although I should probably get back to Metropolis since I’m kinda responsible for the blackout?”

He cocked his head to the side. “You caused it?” 

“Dude, do you have any idea how much speed energy I was packing when I got back into the normal world?” Bart said, rubbing the back of his head. 

“I’m glad to hear it was you and not our newest alien invasion,” Chloe said, arching her eyebrows.

“We have new alien invaders?” 

“No,” Chloe promised. “Not that I know of, but when we saw the explosion and the blackout, I was just thinking of Dark Thursday.”

“Oh.” Bart looked relieved. “That’s better at least.” 

Oliver smiled faintly, glancing around. “Is Clark here?” 

“No, I think he’s still in Metropolis,” Bart answered. 

“Has he seen you?” Chloe asked. 

“Yeah, he’s the one who told me to find you guys when he heard you saying something about Ollie,” Bart said. “Told me to make sure you two stay here.”

Oliver bristled. “I can be helping.” 

“Big blue’s orders,” Bart said as he took a step back and grinned. “Be back soon, order pizza!” he told them before disappearing.

He groaned, rubbing a hand over his face. He was going to punch Clark in the face with a piece of kryptonite. 

“I rather you stay, too,” Chloe said, stepping closer to him.

“There’s a lot of freaked out people in Metropolis,” he said, frowning. 

“A lot of freaked out people who think they are losing everything like when Dark Thursday happened and people who know how much money and power you have,” she pointed out.

He sighed heavily and looked away, lips in a thin line.

“Stop pouting, Oliver,” she said, lifting a hand to his arm. “The explosion you saw wasn’t anything bad, Bart is _alive_ ,” she reminded him.

“And I should be out there helping keep him safe,” he said quietly.

“Clark is there keeping him safe,” she reminded him, stepping closer.

Oliver looked at her, but fell silent.

“Do you remember anything else? From the helmet?” Chloe asked.

He closed his eyes, picturing the explosion he remembered vividly and smiling as this time he caught a brief glimpse of red and yellow rushing from the center of it. “Now I remember seeing a Bart-sized blur.” 

Chloe smiled at that and nodded. “I guess that explains the look on your face right after you took the helmet off.”

Another image flashed through his mind, one of her sitting down on a twin-sized bed beside a small blonde boy wearing Superman pajamas. He sucked in a breath at the unexpected sight, staggering and laying his hand against the side of Clark’s house for support.

“Ollie?” Chloe frowned, wrapping an arm around him to help him.

“You’re reading,” he whispered.

“Reading?” she echoed, watching him closely. She could only imagine he was remembering something else. “What am I reading?”

“I don’t know. But you’re reading to a little boy.” He swallowed hard, his heart tightening.

Her stomach dropped instantly and she held her breath. “And he’s okay?” she whispered, her mouth suddenly dry.

“I think so,” he whispered. “He looks...like he’s maybe six?” He felt overwhelmed.

It was her turn to lean against the house for support, her eyes wide and tearful, her stomach tight and she couldn’t help but lift her hands to cover it.

“That’s all I can remember,” he whispered, rubbing his hands over his face.

“I don’t think we need anything else,” she whispered back, staring down at her stomach as the tears finally ran down her face.

He held his breath, taking a step closer to her and reaching up to brush a tear off her cheek. 

She looked up at him, taking a deep breath and reaching for his arms.

Oliver gazed at her silently for a long moment. “I guess we’re having a son.” 

“I guess we are,” she whispered, the hint of a smile appearing on her lips.

He couldn’t help but smile back, his eyes brighter than they had been in weeks. “Wow.” 

She grinned brightly when she saw the look in his face, sniffing even as she wrapped her arms tightly around his neck. No words to express just how immensely relieved she felt.

He hugged her just as tightly, burying his face against her neck and placing a soft kiss there.

“I love you,” she whispered to him, her feet barely touching the floor as she tightened her arms around his neck.

He picked her up, grinning. “I love you, too.” 

* * * 

When Chloe woke up the following morning, she felt more relaxed and rested than she had in a long time, even before Bart disappeared and before they found her other self in the woods. She smiled when she felt Oliver’s arm wrapped tightly around her, his hand resting on her stomach with her own resting on top of his. 

They had stayed at the farm since Metropolis was still without power and Clark had insisted Bart stayed there, too, which Chloe was glad about since she wanted to see their favorite speedster a lot more now that he was back. 

Between being there with Lois, Clark and Bart, Oliver’s vision about their son being okay and her feeling connected with Ollie once more, she had had no reason not to relax. Slowly, she turned her head to look over her shoulder, to see if he was already awake.

And he was. A soft smile was on his lips when he met her eyes, leaning down to press a kiss to her mouth. “Morning.” 

“Morning,” she whispered back to him, smiling as she linked her fingers through his and squeezed his hand. 

“Hungry?” he asked, resting his head against hers.

“Extremely,” she told him, turning on the bed so she was laying on her back, then pressing her lips to his.

Oliver kissed her, sliding his hand up her body to cup her cheek as he slowly deepened the kiss. It had been awhile since they’d woken up like this: peaceful, nightmare free. No life-altering decision hanging over their heads. 

Chloe returned the kiss as she lifted her arm to wrap it around him, shifting closer to him as she pulled him to her. Just the previous night she had been so sure she was going to lose him, now she knew neither of them were going anywhere.

He stroked her hair gently back from her face, gazing down at her when the kiss ended. “Sorta feels like the weight of the world’s been lifted,” he whispered.

“I know,” she whispered, lifting her free hand to cup his cheek and brushing her thumb over his skin. “Like everything is finally falling into place.”

He nodded, pressing a kiss to her thumb and watching her for a moment. 

“I thought I was going to lose you,” she whispered to him, her eyes meeting his. “If we went through with it.”

Oliver held his breath at her admission and he dipped his head, pressing a kiss to her collarbone. “I was worried about us,” he admitted just as quietly. 

She shivered slightly and turned more toward him, nodding. “We’ll be stronger now.”

He hoped she was right. But for now he was just enjoying her shiver so he kissed her in the same spot again, breath warm against her skin.

Chloe smiled as she shivered again, wrapping a leg around his as she shifted on the bed. It had been a while, and they had never gone this long without it before. Not unless they weren’t actually physically close.

He lifted his head to look at her, grinning softly before shifting on the bed and disappearing beneath the covers. It had been ages since they’d had a morning to themselves and he planned to take full advantage of it. 

* * * 

It wasn’t until a couple of hours and a shower later that Chloe finally managed to put on clothes again. Not that she was complaining. She had missed this, missed _them_ and if she had felt relaxed before, she felt like absolutely nothing could ruin her mood now. “Should we find some food now?” she asked as she adjusted the sweatpants she had borrowed from Lois that were far too big on her. 

“Yeah, before I change my mind and carry you back to the shower,” Oliver answered with a smirk, reaching out and taking her hand.

“I’m afraid food is a necessity at this point,” she told him, linking her fingers through his as she stepped closer. 

Oliver smiled at that, giving her fingers a light squeeze. “I’ll make something good,” he told her.

“Assuming Clark hasn’t already,” she reminded him, pausing. “But before we go, I was thinking...”

His chest tightened immediately but he tried not to let his sudden trepidation show. “Yeah?” 

Chloe winced when she saw the look on his face, her chest tightening with guilt. “Now that we know for sure everything will be okay and Clark already knows anyway, maybe we should tell Lois and Bart? About the baby,” she suggested.

He relaxed, eyes widening at her suggestion. “Yeah?” 

Her face brightened at the look on his face and she nodded. “Since we know things will be okay, I don’t see a reason to hide and I know you were just a little anxious about that,” she teased.

He smirked, nodding. “Maybe a little.” 

“A tiny bit,” she said, grinning as she leaned in and kissed him softly.

Oliver smiled, returning the kiss and then guiding her down the stairs. “You’re right. Someone’s cooking. I smell eggs.” He just hoped it was Clark fixing the food, and not Lois.

Chloe hesitated at the eggs part but didn’t stop since she could tell he was more than a little anxious to get downstairs now. “We’re going to need a ton of food.”

His smile brightened even more. “Yeah, it’s good to have Bart back, even if the kitchen will always be empty again.” 

She paused when she saw all the food laid out on the dining room table and arched her eyebrows. “I think we will be okay.”

“Clark’s been up since five,” Lois informed them as she sat down at the table, taking a drink of juice. 

Chloe glanced up at Ollie then took her seat in front of Lois. “And he bought everything the grocery store had to offer in terms of breakfast food.”

“Not _everything_ ,” Clark told them, moving to sit down beside Lois, his cheeks pink as he avoided looking at either of them.

“Where is Bart?” Chloe asked, eying the eggs warily as she reached for a toast. The smell of eggs had been about the only thing that made her incredibly nauseous in the past couple of months. 

“Right here, ‘Licious.” He sat down beside her, grinning brightly. “Miss me?” 

Chloe relaxed and smiled, nodding even as she glanced at Ollie then back at Bart. “Definitely,” she told him. 

“Parts of Metropolis already have power,” Clark said, glancing at Lois. 

“That’s good to hear.” Oliver glanced at him and then at Chloe, reaching out and taking her free hand in his own again. 

Clark looked down then reached for his glass, drinking the milk quietly. 

Chloe squeezed Oliver’s hand then took a bite of her toast slowly, tentatively. 

“I’m gonna run back after I fuel up,” Bart announced, picking up a little of every food.

“Well before anyone goes anywhere...” Oliver drew in a breath and glanced at Chloe sideways. “We have an announcement to make.” 

Clark arched his eyebrows and looked at them for the first time, relief clear in his face. 

But as soon as Bart spooned a huge amount of scrambled eggs onto his plate, Chloe was on her feet and rushing away from the table.

Oliver winced, quickly rising to his feet, as well. “Be back,” he told them. 

Lois stared after them with wide eyes and then whipped her head around to stare at Clark. 

“What’s going on?” Bart asked, frowning. 

Clark shifted uncomfortably on his chair. “I guess we should wait for them to get back.”

“She has morning sickness,” Lois blurted out, eyes widening even more. “Oh my god.” 

Bart stared between the two of them, his own eyes wide. “You mean they are gonna have a baby?”

Sighing deeply, Clark nodded and looked between them, focusing on Lois. “They wanted to be the ones to tell you.”

“They kinda did?” Lois asked hopefully.

“They’re coming back,” Clark said. 

Chloe stopped a few feet from the table, arching her eyebrows when she saw the looks on Lois’ and Bart’s faces. “Sorry,” she said, glancing at Oliver.

“Are you okay?” Lois asked, a smile pasted onto her face.

“Yeah,” she said, frowning more at the look on her cousin’s face then glancing at Clark, who suddenly seemed to find his plate fascinating. 

“Ollie was about to make some big announcement,” she prompted, arching her eyebrows. 

Oliver couldn’t help but smirk at the look on Lois’s face. He had a feeling she’d figured out what his announcement was. 

“Yeah, we’re curious,” Bart said, his eyes still wide. 

With a deep breath, Chloe reached for Oliver’s hand and nodded. “Go ahead,” she encouraged him even though she was sure they already knew. 

“Well.” Oliver slid his arm around her waist instead of taking her hand. “We’re going to have a baby.” 

She leaned against his side and smiled, wrapping an arm around him too. “A baby boy,” Chloe added. 

“That is _so_ much better than me beating speed force dude!” Bart said, walking over to them. “Why didn’t you say something sooner?” 

Oliver hesitated. “Things have just been so up in the air with everything going on, and we thought you were gone,” he said.

“It didn’t feel like the right time to celebrate,” Chloe added. 

“I’m glad you finally decided to tell them.” Clark stood up, smiling at Chloe then at Oliver.

“You knew?” Lois slugged him in the arm. 

“We made him promise not to say anything,” Oliver told her.

“He ran into us the other night and he could hear the extra heartbeat,” Chloe explained, looking at her cousin. “I pretty much threatened him if he told you.”

Lois glared at him for a moment, then moved over to Chloe, hugging her. “Congratulations.” 

Chloe hugged Lois tightly and took a deep breath, nodding. “Thank you,” she whispered.

Oliver smiled softly, watching the cousins hug and glancing at Bart. “Doubly good day,” he said.

“And just for that, you guys are gonna name him Bart, right?” Bart asked, nudging Oliver’s arm.

His eyebrows shot up. “Uh...” 

“We would, but Clark was telling me that’s what he wants to name his son,” Chloe said quickly, smirking. 

“I didn’t!” Clark said, eyes wide.

Oliver suppressed a chuckle at the look on Clark’s face. 

“Oh, fine, I see how it is,” Bart said to Clark, going back to the table and to his food. 

“You should save the name anyway, Bart. Now that you’re back, you might want to use it on your own kids,” Chloe told him but didn’t move any closer to the table.

“I don’t know. Carter Bartholomeou has an interesting ring to it,” Oliver said quietly.

Chloe paused and looked over to her husband, holding her breath. “Carter,” she echoed, pursing her lips together. 

“I think that sounds nice,” Clark said quietly, nodding.

He glanced over at Bart, offering the younger man a smile.

Bart considered that. “Carter Bart Queen,” he said, arching his eyebrows. “Don’t ever name anyone Bartholomeou, dude. It’s torture.” 

He chuckled. “Oliver’s not exactly one I’d stick someone else with either.” 

“We have plenty of time to figure the middle name thing out,” Chloe told them. 

“I say Carter Sullivan Queen,” Lois said, resuming her seat too. “It’d better be Lois if it was a girl, though.”

“I was thinking Laura for a girl,” Oliver admitted, pursing his lips. 

Chloe turned to look at her husband, her chest tight. “I like that,” she admitted. She knew it was his mom’s name and she liked the idea of names that meant something to them. “I had no idea you had thought about names,” she said in a whisper.

He met her eyes, smiling very faintly, his own chest tight. They’d come so close to not having to think about names, but he hadn’t been able to stop thinking about it. 

She wrapped her arm around his back once more and hugged him to her, nodding. “Maybe we’ll have a girl someday, too,” she whispered very quietly.

Oliver held his breath, sliding his arms around her waist. “Maybe,” he agreed, pressing a kiss to her forehead.

With a deep breath, she leaned against his side then looked over at their friends. “I can’t really be around the eggs, so either you can make me a plate, or we can go for a walk while Bart finishes them off.”

“I’m good with either of those things. I know you’re hungry.” He lifted a hand to cup her cheek.

“Kinda starving,” she admitted, looking up at him and chewing on her bottom lip.

He smiled, kissing her softly and pulling away. “I’ll fix you a plate.” 

“And orange juice?” she asked, smiling at him. 

“Of course.” He smiled more brightly. 

“Thank you,” she told him, smiling brightly too before heading to the living room.

He watched her go, chest feeling warm as he moved to the table, picking up a plate and filling it with a variety of the breakfast foods Clark had fixed.

“What’s wrong?” Clark asked worriedly. 

His eyebrows furrowed. “What do you mean?” Oliver asked, glancing at him.

“With Chloe?” he explained. “Can’t she eat?”

“Oh. That. She can, but the smell of eggs makes her sick,” he explained.

“Oh,” Clark said, relaxing. “Good, she needs to eat.” 

Lois smirked. “Somehow, I don’t think she will have to worry about it with you two around.” 

“Three,” Bart said with a grin.

Oliver grinned, too. “Definitely won’t have to worry about it.” He filled the plate up, set it on the counter and poured a glass of orange juice, then another one of milk.

“Need help?” Clark offered.

“Sure.” He handed the plate to Clark and carried the two glasses toward the living room.

Clark followed him and handed Chloe her plate, smiling at her. “Let me know if you want more,” he offered before heading away. 

“Thanks,” she said as she set the plate on her lap, arching her eyebrows then turning to look at Ollie.

He sat down beside her, setting the two glasses down on the table. “Smell better?” 

“Yeah,” she said quietly, looking up at him then shifting closer. “But you got too much, so you better have some.”

“I will when you’re done. Or I’ll get my own plate,” he assured her, kissing her cheek. 

“You can just get us more if we need,” she pointed out and took a bite of a toast.

“True.” He picked up the blueberry muffin and tore off a small piece, popping it into his mouth. 

Chloe looked up at him and smiled, kissing his jaw softly before going back to her food. “What else do you have planned?”

“What do you mean?” he asked, taking another bite.

“You had picked out names,” she said in a whisper. “Did you have any other plans for the baby?”

His stomach tightened and he looked down for a moment. “Just the usual stuff,” he admitted quietly. “Savings bonds and a college fund, and...” He hesitated, not looking at her. 

“And?” she echoed, setting her plate on her lap and placing a hand on his leg, giving it a light squeeze.

“I was building a crib,” he said softly. 

Her face fell and, yet again her eyes teared up thanks to her hormones. “Ollie...” she whispered, setting her plate aside this time along with her half-eaten toast and wrapping her arms around him.

He wrapped his arm around her in return, sighing softly and pressing a kiss to her head. “I wasn’t going to tell you,” he admitted. 

“Because of what we were talking about?” she asked in a whisper, not wanting Clark to overhear this.

Oliver nodded slightly, swallowing hard.

Sighing deeply, she hugged him tightly and shook her head. “Having your son will be the most important thing I’ll ever do,” she told him quietly, her voice quiet but firm. She couldn’t even imagine what she would be feeling now, if she had gone through with the abortion, she knew the two of them would never be the same and although she was still scared, she knew now that their family was the priority, everything else was a consequence. 

He shifted on the sofa, pulling her closer to him and leaning his head against hers. “Whatever else happens, we’ll get through it together,” he whispered. “It’s what we always do.” 

Nodding, she brushed her nose against his and took a deep breath. “It’s what we have to do.”

He cupped her cheek in his hand and kissed her softly on the mouth. “Come on. Eat up. Baby Queen is hungry,” he teased.

Chloe kissed him one more time then took a deep breath and went back to her food. “Already demanding like his dad,” she said as she finished her toast. 

A smile tugged at his mouth. “Yeah, I’m a high maintenance guy.” 

“You are,” she agreed, brushing her nose against his cheek. “Speaking of high maintenance...” she arched her eyebrows and grinned. Now that she wasn’t as scared, and as stressed out, she felt like her hormones were ten times stronger. Either that or she just missed her husband.

He cocked an eyebrow. “Yes?” He smirked, sliding his hand up and down her back.

“Yeah,” she said simply and shivered as she grinned. “Bart might need to give us a ride back after breakfast.”

He grinned, too. Things were definitely looking up.


End file.
